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Is your hair feeling a little under the weather? Maybe this will help.

We've all been there. Experiencing the feeling of dread and disdain that creeps up within us when we know the inevitable has to take place.....We fight it every step of the way but we know that in the end, we must come to fully accept it......its time for a trim.

To me, trimming our ends is very much like taking much needed medicine. Just like taking your medicine, you require a trim once the symptoms start to show. Just like any sickness, the severity of symptoms can vary from person to person but overall, the signs are pretty much the same.

Dry, brittle endsI'm not talking about "you should rub some moisturizer in" dry, I'm talkin about "your ends give you splinters" dry. If you find that all of your moisturizing efforts are rejected, its time to take extreme measures. Remember that one of the habits of beautifully haired people is to always assess the state of your hair and to determine what actions you need to take. Like taking your medicine, you want to catch the problem early and knock it out before things get worse. Ends that won't behave are a sure sign of a need to take action.

Consistent BreakageIt never fails, whenever I am experiencing consistent breakage that can't be influenced with the help of even by finest hair products, I know its time for a trim. Once I've done the deed, I'm able to miraculously run my fingers through my hair and glide the comb through with the greatest of ease. I'm thinking this has something to do with the strength in numbers theory. Think about the cord, individually the strands are weak yet together, they are able to withstand hundreds of pounds of pressure. If we allow our ends to remain uneven, we are essentially putting the hair at risk of more breakage. That's never a good thing. Think of breakage as a symptom. The more severe the symptoms, the more in need we are of taking our medicine. Avoidance will only lead to further pain and suffering.

So knowing what you know, it only makes sense for you to take a moment to allow it all to sink in. Like doctor who has delivered difficult news to her patient, I'll take a moment to answer any of the myriad of questions that may be running through your head.

Q: Can't I just wear protective styles so I don't have to trim?A: Perhaps, but if you've allowed the damage to run rampant, you will only be hiding damaged ends. Much like a cancerous infection, you should consider whether cutting out the damage is your only choice. If you chose to hide the problem, you may not be getting to the root cause of the issue. Once you get tired of bunning, you will still have damaged, uneven hair.

Q: What if I deep condition on a weekly basis, will that help?A: Again, it depends on the level of severity of the damage. If you are not experiencing positive results with deep conditioning, you will have to consider your other options.

Q: What about all the length I've gained? I don't want to loose it.A: You are probably losing length as you wait around for your ends to get better. Excessive breakage means that you are losing length. You are not doing yourself any favors by allowing the pain to continue. Trimming now will actually help you to retain length in the long run.

Q: How much will I have to trim?A: You should trim as little or as much as your hair requires. Like taking medicine, when you start feeling better, you can adjust your dose. As you begin to trim, analyze your ends. Do they look and feel healthier? You should always start with the lowest dose and increase as required rather than overdosing from the beginning.

Take care of your ends and your ends will take care of you. Believe me, taking your medicine won't feel good right away but soon you'll find that you can once again experience the spring in your step you once had.

Not everyone needs to trim with every relaxer like me (every 9-10 weeks), but trimming regularly helps.

Trimming doesn't help hair grow (the ole myth from back in the day). But, it definitely helps with the retention of healthy hair... no split/dry/etc ends messing it up for the rest of your healthy head of hair.